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ANTHONY STASTNY: Dawgs deliver, but not on over blown expectations

Georgia’s football season started in a state of anticipation and ends in a state of disappointment.

And in the state of Florida, with a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, and nearby Disney World.

That may be appropriate, considering the season started with much of the Bulldog Nation visiting Fantasyland.

See, Georgia came into the season with a solid quarterback, an improving defense and a schedule softer than caramel.

On this shifty foundation, fans build a tower of hopes and dreams — SEC title, undefeated season, national championship.

Those expectations weren’t unrealistic, just not totally reasonable. And here’s why:

• Georgia started the season without an established running back. Gone the way of too many other Georgia players was Isaiah Crowell, not tackled by a strong arm of a defender but the long arm of the law. That left Georgia looking at two highly touted freshmen, neither named Herschel or Walker.

• As good as quarterback Aaron Murray has been, when you reflect on the quarterback’s career, you have to consider the big games he has won. It’s a sparse list, beginning with Florida last year and ending with Florida this year. He has never beaten South Carolina or won a bowl. Whether this says more about Murray or about Georgia is debatable, but what it does say clearly: a national title is a stretch.

• Two words: Offensive line. After two seasons of misery, the Bulldogs stabilized the offensive front this year. Murray had more time to operate, Todd Gurley had space to run. But against one of the weakest schedules in the SEC, Georgia didn’t really push anyone around. Better results but at the end of the day, just better, not great. The line was overwhelmed by South Carolina’s defensive front.

• The Bulldogs’ defense has improved, true. At times, Todd Grantham’s group is rock solid, and Jarvis Jones is the rock star of the group. At other times, it’s soft as cookie dough, no matter how solid Jones is. Case in point: Southern Carolina 35, Georgia 7. The Bulldogs simply could not handle the Gamecocks on either side of the ball. Then there were the almost-as-inexplicable 44 points given up to Tennessee.

So on the balance, was Georgia’s season a boom or bust?

The vote here is boom. OK, so the Bulldogs did not live up to the lofty preseason expectations. The problem was more the expectations than the performance.

Georgia played itself out of the SEC title race, then played itself back into it, and into the SEC title game. And that came after that demoralizing defeat to South Carolina that still has some wondering if the Gamecocks are the new Gators.

Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game left everyone feeling good with good reason. Great effort against a tremendous team. Don’t believe it? Tune in on Jan. 7 for the BCS title game.

But as impressive as that game against Alabama was, it was a 17-9 victory against Florida that stamped this team and its season as a huge success.

That game was Georgia’s first real test after the meltdown in Columbia, S.C. It was a game against a Florida team unbeaten and on a roll, and a team that just didn’t make a lot of mistakes. Those kinds of teams are hard to beat anytime, but especially for a team trying to recover from a shocking collapse.

It was game almost statistically dead even offensively, a game where the defense had to make a difference. And Georgia’s did, getting four fumbles and intercepting two passes.

After this win, the Bulldogs, and not just the fans, believed this team was special.

And they went on to prove it.

So it’s on to the Capital One Bowl. And that’s quite a trip from Fantasyland.

Anthony Stastny is sports editor of the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at 912-652-0356 or anthony.stastny@savannahnow.com.